Companies might be overestimating their use of renewable energy, new research shows.
Many businesses rely on renewable energy certificates (RECs) to support their green energy claims. However, a scientific analysis suggests that corporate REC purchases are unlikely to lead to additional renewable energy production, and can jeopardise global efforts to stop climate change.
When companies purchase RECs, they are supporting renewable energy projects around the world. By doing this, businesses can continue to use electricity generated by fossil fuels, and use the certificates to offset those emissions.
“Too many consumers, media, even investors, might actually think that the company is physically using 100 per cent renewables. And that is just not the case,” said Anders Bjørn, a postdoctoral fellow at Concordia University and the lead author of a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
In the study, Bjørn and his team looked at 115 companies...